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   Ledger Sentinel - The local NEWS source in Oswego, Montgomery and Boulder Hill for more than half a century.
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Published each Thursday in Oswego, Illinois 60543
 Award-Winning Newspaper: Illinois Press Association, Northern Illinois Newspaper Association contests
Reflections

Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, Illinois : ReflectionsDisplaying Articles for All Dates

Decades and centuries pass, but we're still 'screaming' for ice cream
9/2/2010
Junk mail continues to provide answers to those unasked questions
8/26/2010
History has lots of financial lessons but, tragically, few seem interested
8/19/2010
When "small grains" were big in Kendall County
8/12/2010
Fox River Valley rich in easy-to-reach local history museums
8/5/2010
Reveling in the Dog Days of summer and in the junk mail
7/29/2010
Oswego Drag Strip Days brings back fond memories of hot rod era
7/22/2010
Putting Kendall County's 'healthiest' status in historic perspective
7/15/2010
Visitor from the past wouldn't recognize Kendall County farms today
7/8/2010
Like small schools? You'll find plenty in Montana and Nebraska
7/1/2010
Looking for some historical driving kicks? Just try old Route 6
6/24/2010
Early how-to book lured many Brits and Scots to Illinois
6/17/2010
Kendall, Kane and Will: Where those county names came from
6/10/2010
Scapegoats, sermons and more: The junk mail continues to flow
6/3/2010
A few have survived not one, but two historic events
5/27/2010
Spring means it's planting time once again on Illinois prairie
5/20/2010
Madisons, DuPonts understood the value of historic preservation
5/13/2010
A few more reasons why it's important to open your junk mail
5/6/2010
Destitute here looked to local government first during Great Depression
4/29/2010
A true Kendall County renaissance man: John Dean Caton
4/22/2010
Local opposition kept the railroad out of downtown Oswego, for a time
4/15/2010
Like most other public school systems around the state, the Oswego School District has done some major cost cutting over the past several weeks in an effort shore-up an anticipated $12.6 million budge
4/8/2010
Why Kendall's first concrete road bypassed downtown Oswego, Yorkville
4/1/2010
It took a new fee, government cooperation to build first hard roads
3/25/2010
By land and water: Riverboats had role in stagecoach era
3/18/2010
Don't ask a young American to find Afghanistan on a map
3/11/2010
Frances E. Lane: Kendall County's unlikely women's rights warrior
3/4/2010
'Madness?' Erie Canal proponents proved Thomas Jefferson wrong
2/25/2010
Early history of Kendall County has proven an invaluable research tool
2/18/2010
Don't like those sappy Valentine's Day cards? Blame this Frenchman
2/11/2010
Gangster may have told agents of Three-Fingered Jack's grave here
2/4/2010
Put a tiger in your tank? Lots of recent history in old ad campaigns
1/28/2010
1900: The year that set the 20th Century's stage
1/21/2010
It's so easy to twist, even a caveman can do it!
1/14/2010
Settling Wheatland's treeless prairie lands
1/7/2010
Grandma hoisting a pig's head in the backyard: What's up with that?
12/31/2009
Life was indeed a "winter wonderland" on Wheatland area farm
12/24/2009
Only a few days until Christmas; time to warm up with junk mail
12/17/2009
So which disaster do we start preparing for?
12/10/2009
The month of the 'Long Night Moon' is here; are you ready?
12/3/2009
Technology, politics and economics spelled doom for buffalo
11/26/2009
Junk mail can help keep those holiday fires burning brightly
11/19/2009
Kendall County and the "dreadful scourge" of 1918
11/12/2009
Kendall County's veterans have given us rich heritage of bravery
Those brave, forever young, men and women - 11/5/2009
Dr. Danforth: The most famous local doctor you never heard of
10/29/2009
If there was no junk mail, someone would certainly invent it
10/22/2009
Better vehicles, paved roads spelled doom for trolley service
10/15/2009
Why homemade potato salad-even Southern style-is important
10/8/2009
Old Life magazine shows how today's problems aren't really new
10/1/2009
Ben Franklin: Not only a Founding Father, but also a cartoonist
9/24/2009
Easy Fox River crossing points proved key to siting area towns
9/17/2009
So where did all that pine wood come from? Northern Wisconsin
9/10/2009
Nature, man combined to destroy ancient North American cultures
9/3/2009
Geese are messy, but they don't mess around on their mates
8/27/2009
Just how big is Kendall County? It depends upon the survey
8/20/2009
Wetland restoration a labor of love for three Oswego retirees
8/13/2009
When it comes to watering it's best to remember Franklin's advice
8/6/2009
Threshing season meant hard work in the kitchen for farmers' wives
7/30/2009
Want to know how old that horse is? Just count the teeth
7/23/2009
Historic downstate fort remains a fine link to Illinois' colonial past
7/16/2009
Chicago TV news report proves there is history south of 75th Street
7/9/2009
Almost time to celebrate Independence Day; where's the anvil?
7/2/2009
Not even postage rate hikes seems to slow the flow of junk mail
6/25/2009
The story behind one of Oswego's landmark homes
6/18/2009
Those old photos are deceiving; early settlers knew how to have fun
6/11/2009
Why the arrival of the auto was good for public health
6/4/2009
Peter Specie: So important to Kendall County, but so little known
5/28/2009
Today's question: Have you had your four pounds of food?
5/21/2009
High, inside fastball on an Oswego playground provided a life lesson
5/14/2009
Jesuit missionaries found Illinois' mosquitoes a 'cruel persecution'
5/7/2009
Times are indeed tough, but not yet as tough as the 1930s
4/30/2009
Stats show weekly papers increased in number and readership
4/23/2009
Expansive prairies and timber along the Fox attracted our earliest pioneers
4/16/2009
Epic 1826 canoe voyage created an enduring Illinois legend
4/9/2009
Wanderlust a trait common among early Kendall County settlers
4/2/2009
Golfing in Australia? Watch out for those 22 pound toadstools
3/26/2009
Methodist Missionaries found it difficult to win converts among Indians
3/19/2009
Fox River Trail extends through heart of what was Oswego's ice industry
3/12/2009
African-Americans can trace their roots here back to county's founding
3/5/2009
Even an old newspaper guy can learn a thing or two from his junk mail
2/26/2009
How Native Americans survived the month of the Full Hunger Moon
2/19/2009
Letter offers first-hand account of a volunteer's Civil War experience
2/12/2009
Settlers' survival was at stake here during brutal winter of 1830-31
2/5/2009
Hanging around the railroad tracks paid off for at least one lad
1/29/2009
As long as the trolleys ran, park was the place for entertainment
1/22/2009
In mid-19th century Kendall County, wagon makers were at the hub of business
1/15/2009
Farming then and now followed the rhythm of the seasons
1/8/2009
A new year dawns and yet another chance to eliminate sloth
1/1/2009
Celebrating and giving gifts at Christmas? Pilgrims would be aghast
12/25/2008
Back when cookie sheets and oranges meant it was Christmastime
12/18/2008
Four Supreme Court decisions that every American should know
12/11/2008
Time continues to fly, but the junk mail just keeps on coming
12/4/2008
One century later, this columnist's old house still going strong
11/27/2008
Millwrights provided the essentials for Kendall's earliest settlers
11/20/2008
Well, that was some election, wasn't it?
11/13/2008
What's Klingon for 'be fruitful and multiply'?
11/6/2008
Just in time for Halloween: A tale of a 'real' ghost walk
10/30/2008
What New Salem tells us about local history
10/23/2008
Corn is America's man-made miracle grain
10/16/2008
Chicago Chipmunks, maybe, but Bears never!
10/9/2008
A chance to connect with our rich pioneer past
10/2/2008
There was plenty of adventure in a small town
9/25/2008
How Kendall County places got their names
9/18/2008
Is it time to fill Illinois' state beverage gap?
9/11/2008
Operating a threshing machine was no job for greenhorns
9/4/2008
Major milestone reached; journey continues
8/28/2008
Going from here to there? Not so fast!
8/21/2008
Clean cats and lady dentists: It's junk mail time
8/14/2008
How local bison remains helped revise history
8/7/2008
Getting the story of bison in Illinois right
7/31/2008
The gold rush as entertainment in Kendall County
7/24/2008
Get the vacuum out; the cosmic dust's building up
7/17/2008
Tripping out in Illinois is an old tradition
7/10/2008
Illinois' debt of gratitude to George Rogers Clark
7/3/2008
Kendall County's overlooked pioneer women
6/26/2008
Measure those hornet nests for snow prediction
6/19/2008
Back to building our public buildings to last
6/12/2008
Kendall's mobile 19th Century county seat
6/5/2008
Yaks and darcys and drinks-it's junk mail time
5/29/2008
Piece of nation's military history rests in Plano
5/22/2008
Same old school problems after 170 years
5/15/2008
Settling a rhubarb- and rhubarb-free zone
5/8/2008
Pioneer mills fueled early economic growth
5/1/2008
Run for your lives! The pond scum's moving!
4/24/2008
Oswego's Little White School a preservation win
4/17/2008
Panics of 1837, 2008 have much in common
4/10/2008
American Indians were good fort builders, too
4/7/2008
Big news: Norwegians found Irish city
3/27/2008
Fox River's name another historical mystery
3/20/2008
Old-time technology was complicated, too
3/13/2008
Women made their own way on Illinois frontier
3/6/2008
How Plato put the lawyers on a time clock
2/28/2008
The worst shot Samuel de Champlain ever took
2/21/2008
This week's bout: Raleigh man vs. Watkins man
2/14/2008
Reflections...
Old dog still trying to jump on the engine - 2/7/2008
Hobs and Jills and Janus: It's January!
1/31/2008
When sledding was good in the Fox Valley
1/24/2008
When you could ice skate on the Fox River
1/17/2008
Robinson B. Murphy's Civil War heroism
1/10/2008
Water, air, and a little coal makes...nylon!
1/3/2008
The once and future American melting pot
12/27/2007
Grandpa's Christmas spirit will always live on
12/20/2007
From pistols to corsets to houses: Sears had it all
12/13/2007
It's December; are we having fun yet?
12/6/2007
Hunting a part of the Fox Valley's heritage
11/29/2007
Holidays a season custom-made for kids
11/22/2007
Fur trade once enlivened, enriched the Midwest
11/15/2007
Clark Gabel: Famed lumber jack and factory worker
11/8/2007
Timber at a premium during settlement era
11/1/2007
Building that little house on the Illinois prairie
10/25/2007
Limestone helped build the Fox Valley
10/18/2007
Dealing with the French on autumn's cusp
10/11/2007
Corn harvest a Fox Valley autumn tradition
10/4/2007
No ticket to ride needed for these scenic drives
9/27/2007
Barns are reminders of rich farming history
9/20/2007
French fries? Freedom fries? Jeffferson fries!
9/13/2007
Back to school: An autumn tradition since 1834
9/6/2007
Historic preservation the ultimate in recycling
8/30/2007
Public education has long history in Illinois
8/23/2007
Just hanging out 25 feet above the ground
8/16/2007
Ophidiophobia, nyctophobia and Jumbo the Elephant
8/9/2007
When threshing machines were harvest kings
8/2/2007
A short history of reaping and harvesting
7/26/2007
Recalling 1950s summer travel adventures
7/19/2007
Going to the barber shop for an appendectomy
7/12/2007
The evolution of Fox River dam theory
7/5/2007
Native Americans and the Fox Valley’s landscape
6/28/2007
Allow three square feet for every chicken
6/21/2007
U.S Army, cholera mark end of Black Hawk War
6/14/2007
War on the Prairie: Settlers flee to Walker's Grove
6/7/2007
The Black Hawk War: Massacre at Indian Creek
5/31/2007
Maj. Stillman’s run: advancing to the rear
5/24/2007
War clouds gather on Illinois’ horizon in 1832
5/17/2007
U.S. troops begin pursuit of Black Hawk’s band
5/10/2007
The Black Hawk War began 175 years ago
5/3/2007
The Chief is gone; but he was the wrong chief
4/26/2007
Production boom leads to transportation crisis
4/19/2007
The founding family of Oswego, Montgomery
4/12/2007
Don’t worry. It’s all according to Hoyle
4/5/2007
A happy Septaquintaquinquecentennial?
3/29/2007
Kendall County in 1843: Murder most foul
3/22/2007
You take the high road; I’ll meander, thanks
3/15/2007
Clay tablet maps make for some hard folding
3/8/2007
Hoodwinked by plank road technology
3/1/2007
Oswegos and Yorkvilles and Newarks, oh my
2/22/2007
The total eclipse of the Full Hunger Moon
2/15/2007
The day Roosevelt sank beneath the waves
2/8/2007
Gustav, Abe Lincoln and the Green Bay Packers
2/1/2007
The day Lincoln left his fingerprints behind
1/25/2007
Those cool beans—soybeans, that is
1/18/2007
Goldfish win the battle of the chromosomes
1/11/2007
Who went from the outhouse to outer space?
1/4/2007
The day the county courthouse was mobbed
12/28/2006
Christmas news flash: Romans invented fruitcakes
12/21/2006
Did Illinois almost become a slave state?
12/14/2006
Traveling from Massachusetts to Illinois in 1822
12/7/2006
Who could we get to carve the Sacred Sucker?
11/30/2006
Pilgrims, Squanto and Thanksgiving Day
11/23/2006
Every Illinois county name has a story to tell
11/16/2006
Those marvelous Ojibwa birch bark canoes
11/9/2006
Speeding through Illinois' traffic, road history
11/2/2006
So was Sherlock Holmes really beetle-browed?
10/26/2006
Finding a square meal on the Illinois frontier
10/19/2006
Visit with some local "ghosts" next Thursday
10/12/2006
Lake Michigan is part of both past and present
10/5/2006
Toothache's much better; no mouse, please
9/28/2006
When Henry Ford built the Model T of farm tractors
9/21/2006
Kendall County's valuable liquid assets
9/14/2006
Drinking with the ants as autum arrives
9/7/2006
After 250 years, some things stay the same
8/31/2006
Gasoline was high; so were the Rocky Mountains
8/24/2006
Beating the heat an age-old local pursuit
8/17/2006
On the trail of the monkey with 36 teeth
8/10/2006
Getting snookered by a catalpa tree salesman
8/3/2006
Grain elevators are artifacts of time gone by
7/27/2006
Scots settlers brought scientific farming methods
7/20/2006
Destructive floods a fact of Fox Valley life
7/13/2006
Nailing the Iraq do-it-yourself connection
7/6/2006
The case of the disappearing Oswego mayor
6/29/2006
Was Dr. Conrad Will really worth his salt?
6/22/2006
Smyrna to Oswego: Six weeks on the road
6/15/2006
Standing to reason on a fine June Illinois day
6/8/2006
Kendall's Historic Courthouse has rich history
6/1/2006
When Kendall County troops went to Taylorville
5/25/2006
The day the Illinois militia burned Peoria
5/18/2006
Illinois is warm in the summer; Venus is warmer
5/11/2006
'The Father of patronage
Political power, growth seem to go together - 5/4/2006
The Springs, the Rev. Mr. See, and Daniel Platt
4/27/2006
When they killed a river system in a day
4/20/2006
Going southeasterly from Atlantic to Pacific
4/13/2006
Settling the prairie with a book and a prayer
4/6/2006
When a foreign language wasn't all that foreign
3/30/2006
News flash: Illinois State Dog gap exists
3/23/2006
Two eastern canals made us what we are today
3/16/2006
Port of Chicago another manmade marvel
3/9/2006
The Illinois Midland Railway: The littlest railroad
3/2/2006
Our new secret weapon: The Electric Slide
2/23/2006
Getting through February always an adventure
2/16/2006
It was a busy first half of the 17th Century
2/9/2006
The I&M Canal's brief, but important, career
2/2/2006
Shoney's waffle house and other wonders
1/26/2006
Peoria, cross country, the Navy, and stagecoaches
1/19/2006
Furs, smoking, and the Spanish Inquisition
1/12/2006
Kendall County's very own trove of trivia
1/5/2006
Is it a plant, an animal, or a plantanimal?
12/29/2005
Christmas stories: "Things were different then"
12/22/2005
Riding the Bluebird to a day on the town
12/15/2005
How the government stocked the Fox River--with carp
12/8/2005
Flash: Sailor, not Santa, re-enlists at North Pole
12/1/2005
Cisco, Pancho, and an Allis-Chalmers corn picker
11/24/2005
It's (mostly) the transportation routes, stupid
11/17/2005
The electric road that linked Yorkville and Morris
11/10/2005
Newton's tooth worn as a fashion accessory
11/3/2005
A local ghost story for a hazy fall evening
10/27/2005
How the big boys managed to steal our railroad
10/20/2005
When everyone went to school in one room
10/13/2005
It's October; is it okay to veto the diva?
10/6/2005
Trying to keep religion in its place in America
9/29/2005
Apples were once a Kendall County cash crop
9/22/2005
When it was "in" to be down on the farm
9/15/2005
Dog Days long gone; autumn is on the way
9/8/2005
Finding right attire isn't always so easy
9/1/2005
Farmers still find organizing is a good idea
8/25/2005
Carrying on across the Chicago Portage
8/18/2005
Mailbox inventor heads south to Florida
8/11/2005
Building to last the old fashioned way
8/4/2005
The drought's severe-but it's not 1933
7/28/2005
Trying to maintain against the historical flow
7/21/2005
Maramech Hill one of our local historical gems
7/14/2005
Remember: Three square feet for every chicken
7/7/2005
Times have changed but worries are the same
6/30/2005
New forest preserve a piece of real history
6/23/2005
Two women's stories of pioneer Illinois
6/16/2005
Norman had a great round of golf in 1964
6/9/2005
Progress changing farmers and farming
6/2/2005
History is on the map thanks to early boundaries
5/26/2005
What really powered the early settlers
5/19/2005
This Clinton not as well known as he should be
5/12/2005
Fox Valley's pioneer mills gone, but not forgotten
5/5/2005
Studying Monet in school? Thank the lottery
4/28/2005
Hardy voyageurs helped lead the way west
4/21/2005
Was Lincoln really our first gay President?
4/14/2005
Were Pa, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe from Illinois?
4/7/2005
"Pledge of Allegiance" a socialist rant?
3/31/2005
Winters vs. Frink: Stagecoach showdown
3/24/2005
To the survivors go the historical spoils
3/17/2005
Late winter a time for valley reflections
3/10/2005
Look fast with a seeing-eye greyhound
3/3/2005
Native American technology paved our way
2/24/2005
Fox Valley pioneers used technology, too
2/17/2005
Illinois also had its problems with slavery
2/10/2005
Jackson vs. Polk: Old vs. Young Hickory
2/3/2005
The post offices that are no longer there
1/27/2005
Change in a different time, different world
1/20/2005
Building technology benefited big and small alike
1/13/2005
How reindeer make dough, not sleighs, rise
1/6/2005
Looking at history, lock, stock and barrel
12/30/2004
Fox Valley Christmas memories of years past
12/23/2004
Hey, where was that chief from, anyway?
12/16/2004
That great bridge building material in the fridge
12/9/2004
Another link to local past disappearing
12/2/2004
So, what day is Thanksgiving again?
11/25/2004
French colonies were really business ventures
11/18/2004
Roast or steak? You need a ruler to tell
11/11/2004
Has a famed Great Lakes mystery been solved?
11/4/2004
The year the Three Fires moved to the Fox Valley
10/28/2004
Plenty of great autumn colors right here
10/21/2004
Names-and times-change for better and worse
10/14/2004
Tom Edison: The world's first recording star
10/7/2004
Trade in furs changed Illinois' cultural landscape
9/30/2004
Dark and bloody 17th Century fur trade wars
9/23/2004
LaSalle, Tonti, the Iroquois and the eventful 1680s
9/16/2004
Smoking, Redhorse, and giant rock disaster
9/9/2004
Another summer fast drawing to a close
9/2/2004
When it was threshing time on the prairie
8/26/2004
It's okay to exchange Duerr for Black Hawk
8/19/2004
When it was summer and the livin' was easy
8/12/2004
Hearst's mammoth home really was his castle
8/5/2004
Fred, David, Robert, and George were first
7/29/2004
Those stubborn, smart, sure-footed mules
7/22/2004
County got its start courtesy of Panic of '37
7/15/2004
July 2004: An Illinois diamond in the rough
7/8/2004
The cure's often worse than the hiccups
7/1/2004
At minimum, history texts ought to be accurate
6/24/2004
Aurora to workers: Take a bath or go to jail
6/17/2004
Mustard sauce exists, sardines don't-honest
6/10/2004
When we listened to the city rooster crow
6/3/2004
Kendall soldiers have served well, often
5/27/2004
California-land of Monterey Jack, mustaches
5/22/2004
Lewis & Clark started their trip in Illinois
5/13/2004
Barns are disappearing from the rural landscape
5/6/2004
How George Washington started the First World War
4/29/2004
Coal fired Illinois' early commercial growth
4/22/2004
Hold your nose and strew the bridewort
4/15/2004
The natives who came from somewhere else
4/8/2004
Hey Butch, who are those guys, anyway?
4/1/2004
Was Mrs. Butterworth really a Chippewa?
3/25/2004
It's the people behind a constitution that count
3/18/2004
Lewis and Clark's equipment was state-of-the-art
3/11/2004
Spring is breaking out all over! Isn't it?
3/4/2004
McCarty brothers: Aurora's pioneer businessmen
2/26/2004
History can be a guide-if we pay attention
2/19/2004
Black History Month good time for reflection
2/12/2004
February observation: It's a cold, crowded world
2/5/2004
Movie brings home the brutality of war
1/29/2004
The storm of this century has yet to arrive
1/22/2004
Traveling during the winter is easier now-honest
1/15/2004
Cycle of the seasons still a farm constant
1/8/2004
Another year, even more junk mail arrives
1/1/2004
Favorite Christmas memories recall family holidays
12/25/2003
When Kendall County's population went down
12/18/2003
Old boundary line a reminder of Indian past
12/11/2003
The time of the French in colonial Illinois
12/4/2003
So H.W. Largelamb invented the telephone?
11/27/2003
Melancholy memories and might-have-beens
11/20/2003
330 years and maps still aren't right
11/13/2003
Corn is the nation's most common mystery
11/6/2003
Lewis & Clark's excellent adventure started here
10/30/2003
The Fox Valley's 170 year quest for a comfy chair
10/23/2003
How did all that hay get into the Mayflower?
10/16/2003
Why go to Wisconsin to enjoy fall colors?
10/9/2003
Real names, personalities behind local Indians
10/2/2003
Indians, not pioneers were first permanent settlers
9/25/2003
Been doing some hard traveling down that road
9/18/2003
Women's lot was hard on the Illinois prairie
9/11/2003
Public education's long, checkered history
9/4/2003
Elderly goldfish point the way as summer ends
8/28/2003
The Townsends' 'little factory on the prairie'
8/21/2003
Trails to rails mark local transportation saga
8/14/2003
After 10,000 years, time we got used to growth
8/7/2003
When wind power pumped the farmers' water
7/31/2003
Do we really need an official crustacean?
7/24/2003
Every bridge has a historical story to tell
7/17/2003
It may not be cheap, but it is entertainment
7/10/2003
U.S. government a political work in progress
7/3/2003
He's really Sirius about that Dog Star...
6/26/2003
What was Wild Bill doing in Troy Grove, anyway?
6/19/2003
The case of the disappearing wainrwright...
6/12/2003
When the Zuni Medicine Company came to town
6/5/2003
We're still waiting for electric voting...
5/29/2003
The Louisiana Purchase's local connections
5/22/2003
Wildflowers offer a glimpse of pioneer past
5/15/2003
The era when we couldn't grow fast enough
5/8/2003
Spring part of fur trade's seasonal cycle
5/1/2003
Pro basketball a sure sign of spring...and summer
4/24/2003
Early settlers had their share of maple sugar
4/17/2003
The times they've seen, the stories they could tell
4/10/2003
A ton of carousel facts, fancy, lore in the mail
4/3/2003






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